27 Dec Planting The Seed

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb

Every plant and every tree has a story and all of the stories start with a seed. When one thinks of the plants and trees of a lush, tropical destination such as the Island of Bali, one’s mind will drift to the beautiful flowers and trees such as the Hibiscus, Lotus, Plumeria, Lilies, and Palm or Banyan trees. Native flowers are often arranged and presented in offerings in small baskets woven from palm leaves. Sacred trees are preserved and worshipped with their trunks and branches dressed with sacred, symbolic white and yellow clothes or shrines placed at their roots. Wood from the trees is used to carve masks for rituals and dances. The most common of the sacred trees is the Banyan Tree which is considered a symbol of immortality and can be found next to almost every village temple. The story of the Banyan Tree seeds begins with the tree’s fruits being consumed by birds and then the seeds within the fruits are deposited by these birds in other existing ‘host’ trees. The Banyan seeds then grow within the host tree’s branches and eventually envelop the tree, grow strong roots down into the ground and smother the existing tree until it dies and is consumed by insects and the nutrients from the host tree help the Banyan Tree to survive. Not the most pleasant of thoughts, but it is an example of the course of Mother Nature and the ‘nature’ and perseverance of the Banyan Tree and its seeds. If these trees could talk they would tell two very different stories.

Much like different unique types of trees, we as human beings also start as seeds, have our own unique and individual ‘nature’, adapt to our surroundings and do what we do to survive and persevere through the situations and environments that life presents. Each of us has a story that began when we were a seed, planted whenever and wherever we were planted and we started to grow and our story has gone on from there. At the heart of you lies your seed or your own true and fundamental nature, just like the tree. You have inherited genes and wisdom from ancestors and have your own unique and individual soul, personality, spirit and nature. As a child you are cared for by the other unique beings that surround you. You are taught how to talk, walk, the difference between right and wrong, how to love and many other amazing things. As you grow older you gradually learn what you like and do not like and you continue to be guided, make choices and discover new things and eventually walk your own path as only you know how. Life presents different challenges and you achieve many things and continue to create and grow into the infinite, amazing and unique being that you are. All from the Seed of You and what you do with this Seed is really up to You. You nurture it and let it flourish, grow, blossom and bear fruits.

There are many ways to nourish the Seed of You. In order to know how to nurture, water and grow your seed you really need to know who you are and have a good understanding of your Self. There are many disciplines that you can practice to help you to find presence and the time and space for Self exploration and discovery. Yoga is just one of these disciplines and through the practice of asana (postures), pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation you will gradually gain this presence and increased awareness of Self and work toward the answer to the question, “Who am I?”, which is the true essence of life and at the heart of the practice of Yoga. The practice and techniques of yoga help you to slow down and find presence so you are more aware of your outer and inner worlds. If you truly know your own seed, what it has experienced, how it has grown, you truly know your Self and you can conquer anything and grow your seed into anything you choose. In Peak Beings Yoga’s 200 Hour Unified Yoga Teacher Training (September 16 to October 10, 2018 at Desa Seni) you will be guided on a 25 Day journey to the Self and you will be given the time to explore, discover and understand know your true nature or true Self. In this training you will flourish, grow, blossom, bear fruits and gain the tools to spread your seeds of knowledge through the teaching of Yoga and you will then be able to Plant the Seed of awareness, self discovery and self love within others. We hope you will join us on this epic journey with like minded people on the same journey to the Self.